My name is Rocky and I am from India... this is my story... my 2 cents worth..
I have been a silent spectator on this forum for a year now. I also have a different alias I post under (in this forum) which I do not want to link to this profile. I have read all your rants and complaints about Canada, Canadians, jobs here, weather, etc.
I have been in Canada for 18 months now. I came here on a student visa in December 2011 for Jan 2012 intake at a college in Toronto. My initial days in school was loads of fun, cold though but I loved it. I had never seen snow before and I was always fascinated by it. I was fascinated by everything in Canada. And then I started smoking to appear cool. A bad habit which I regret now. There was this Canadian girl who was so cute that I just could not keep my eyes off her. She used to take frequent smoke breaks and that was my excuse to start smoking. Coming from the heat, hustle of India, here I am shivering in the snow, flirting with Lori with a smoke in my hand, trying my best to look cool.
Lori, 4th generation Canadian was all I envisioned about Canada and Canadian girls. Very friendly very loving and soon we were always together. She used to live in Mississauga and I used to live in the North York area. I used to live in a townhouse with 4 other room mates with a common living area and shared washrooms. We used to study together and eventually after a couple of months started living together. My landlord had a problem with 2 people living in a house and paying for one. More hydro costs etc. So we moved out together to a condo at Sheppard and Don Mills.
Lori made my life very easy. She helped me with everything, from opening my first bank account at TD to getting my G1, every aspect of Canadian life was spoon fed to me and I soaked it all up.
Fast forward to second semester, May 2012, summer was here. God I hated it. The worst, hottest summer was upon us. I went from brown to black, Lori from white to red. We were broiled, grilled and burnt from the sun. Most of us classmates from school were already planning for jobs and PR. Saskatchewan was explored, and dropped when they changed the rules. Resumes were made out in the Canadian format and sent out to prospective employers, money was running out. Thankfully Lori got herself a part time job at Home Depot which made things easier. I was also asking for money from home. It was still ok except for the heat.
Unavoidable circumstances caused a rift between Lori and I, which led her to move out. I was broke again. I started working as a dish washer in an Indian restaurant at Bloor. 10 bucks an hour for 10 hours a day. I made enough for rent and strip clubs especially when there was 10 dollar Tuesdays at Zanzibar. Life was good. Really good. It only got better... to be continued.
PS: I have a meeting now, so back soon.